In this Bend Current enewsletter you’ll learn about how the City’s budget works and see videos about a student safety app, a new neighborhood advisory group and turkey fryer safety. You will get Council updates, including a recap of the recent election results, get the latest on Empire Corridor Improvements, and find out what’s new with our winter street operations.

NOVEMBER 2018

PROPERTY TAX 101

As a resident of Bend, you pay taxes and fees. The City uses those dollars responsibly to provide all the core services you need to live your life – streets, water, sewer, public safety and more.

When you pay property taxes, about 21% of your property tax payment goes to the City. The rest goes to other organizations including Bend-La Pine Schools, Deschutes County, the Bend Park and Recreation District and so on.

The City’s General Fund is mostly made up of property taxes. A few other sources of income for the General Fund include room taxes (i.e. lodging taxes) and franchise fees that companies pay to use the public right-of-way to provide other necessary community services.

Only about 30 percent of the total revenues that the City receives go in to the General Fund, and they are known as “discretionary” funds. The other approximately 70 percent (the part that is not the General Fund) are what we call “restricted” funds.

The City Council, your elected policy makers, can influence how discretionary funds in the General Fund are spent. About 75 percent of the General Fund typically pays for public safety – Police and Fire services. Other core services supported by the General Fund include street maintenance, transit, accessibility and some Community Development expenses.

The restricted funds – the majority of the budget – are for fee-supported services. For example, fees you pay for sewer can only pay for sewer projects or sewer system maintenance. The fees you pay for water cover water-related expenses. In other words, the City can’t use water fees to pay for potholes or Police officers.

Every two years, following a Council election, the Council develops goals that determine how discretionary funds should be prioritized in the biennial budget. That process will start next spring and will influence the development of the biennial budget that goes in to effect July 1, 2019.

STUDENT SUPPORT APP

Do you know any students in Central Oregon? Make sure they know about the First Step app from the Bend Police Department and Bend LaPine Schools that can help them cope with the challenges they face in school and in life.

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS

The City Council wants to know what neighbors think about current issues. Councilors created a new advisory group to answer those questions. This is a great time to get involved with your Neighborhood Association, now that the organizations have a more direct line to Councilors.

SEPTIC TO SEWER PROGRESS

Councilors recently agreed the City should pursue implementing a citywide septic-to-sewer conversion program that will allow neighborhoods to apply for City funding for building neighborhood sewer projects. The Council also approved moving forward on decommissioning two more sewer pump stations in a neighborhood in southeast Bend and building a sewer connection between the neighborhood and the new Southeast Interceptor sewer line. The Council will be considering code amendments to implement the citywide conversion program at its meeting on December 5.

EMPIRE PROJECT NEWS

Councilors this month approved additional funding for the ongoing Empire Corridor Improvements project. This funding authorizes this high-priority transportation project to continue into Phase 2 of design. A summary of the contract amendment is here.

Empire Avenue is set to reopen in December. Roundabout construction at Empire Avenue and Purcell Boulevard will continue through winter months if weather allows.

The Empire Corridor Improvements project is a priority project that will improve safety, multi-modal transportation options, access and connectivity for the neighborhood and the traveling public. Project webpage: bendoregon.gov/empire.

Also: Come check it out! The public is invited to an Open House from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, November 26, at the NE Purcell and Empire Avenue intersection. Come and see the new improvements on Empire Avenue prior to the opening of Empire Avenue.

EMERGENCY SNOW ZONE PARKING RESTRICTIONS

Two winters ago, with record-breaking snow fall, the City identified locations where on-street parking contributed to increasingly narrow roads that became challenging for two-way traffic flow.

During declared snow emergencies, the City will ask that those targeted streets be cleared of parked cars, to help crews plow from curb to curb and prevent unmanageable berms in the travel lanes.

Last winter, the City kicked-off a pilot program to designate targeted Snow Emergency Zone parking restrictions during snow emergencies. However, due to the mild winter, no snow emergencies were declared. The City will keep this pilot program in place in the event of a large snow storm. Emergency Snow Zones for the 2018-19 winter are:

After the City Manager declares a “snow emergency,” there will be a 12-hour period of time when parking will not be allowed on these streets. This allows for complete plowing of the street from curb to curb. Once your street has been completely plowed from curb to curb, you are welcome to return to the street to park during the snow emergency.

To receive notifications when a snow emergency is declared, sign up for “snow emergency notifications” at bendoregon.gov/enews. (If you have signed up for other news notifications you will need to change your preferences to include emergency snow zone notifications.) Or, check bendoregon.gov if it’s snowing and you want to find out if a snow emergency has been declared. People can also call City of Bend Streets and Operations at (541) 323-5980 to find out if a snow emergency has been declared.

The City doesn’t intend to tow cars, but if crews have to tow, to create safe streets, it will be at no cost to the driver and relocation areas will be identified.

Do your neighbors a favor: Don’t get plowed around! Plowing around parked cars can end up leaving a berm that would be difficult for a person with a shovel to remove.

KEEP YOUR HOME CLOG-FREE

Below our houses and streets is crucial and expensive infrastructure - almost 400 miles of sewer pipes that carry wastewater from our homes and businesses to the treatment plant. If this flow becomes blocked by grease, food solids and trash, it causes blockages that can redirect wastewater into the streets or back into our homes and businesses. Yuck!

Keep your pipes flowing by putting all trash, cooled cooking fat and disposable wipes (even those labeled as “flushable”) into the garbage for safe disposal. Blockages in a homeowner’s system are the homeowner’s financial responsibility. Be careful about what goes down your sink and toilet to prevent costly plumbing and sewer system repairs.

In the kitchen:

Scrape foods from dishes into the garbage instead of the sink.

Limit use of garbage disposals. They only add to the trash going down the drain and can cause sewer problems.

Wipe cooled grease and fats from pots, pans and dishes with paper towels before they go into the sink prevents blockages and saves water.

COMMUNITY SURVEY 2018

Do you have a few minutes for a call? The City of Bend is embarking on a statistically-valid phone survey in early December to gather feedback about the City and City services. Your participation will help us set city priorities and drive the next Council biennial goal setting. If you happen to get a phone call on your cell phone or your landline, your input will help us greatly!

Also, in case you don’t get randomly chosen for a call, we’ll launch a similar online Community Survey at the same time as the phone calls are happening so everyone’s input can be heard. The online survey will be available in both English and Spanish. Results complement the phone survey and will also be shared with the Council. Watch bendoregon.gov for the online survey, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter where we’ll also post links to the online survey.

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Accommodation Information for People with Disabilities
To obtain this information in an alternate format such as Braille, large print, etc., please contact Anne Aurand at: communications@bendoregon.gov; Relay Users Dial 7-1-1.